The Other Country
by KaikioChan
Summary: It was great that his mother-in-law approved of him... even if it were little too much. New Chapter! "Confrontation" Al and Mei's honeymoon in Xing - fluffyness and minor OC-ness. Rated for language and slightly-naughty Al-ness ;D
1. Fangirls

Note: This is kind of a companion piece to my last story "A Little Bit Lucky" and is held after Al and Mei's wedding.  
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA as awesome as it it - I'd probably just ruin it T^T

* * *

"Listen."

"Hm?"

"Can you hear them?"

Silence.

"Hear what?"

"You don't hear them?"

"I think I just heard you shift in your seat; was that it?"

"Alphonse!"

"Ok ok…." Al chucked at the fuming Xingesse girl beside him. "What should I be listening for?"

Silently Mei scanned the dark sky, looking for the source of the sound. Al stayed quiet, enjoying the calm, peaceful night. It was their first day in Xing together, the first day of their honeymoon as a married couple. Al shook his head; he couldn't believe that only a week ago he was holding Mei's slender hands in his own, him in his traditional green Xing outfit and her in an elaborate moss-green dress, long hair spiraling down her back. They had celebrated in the most secluded part of Central Park; he could remember how his brother had thrown a tantrum after finding a wasp in his wine, complaining about outdoor weddings. Mei didn't mind though; she liked the outdoors, as did Alphonse. He leaned back on the mossy rock and stared fondly at Mei, her eyes still focused of whatever her sensitive ears were listening to.

A moment later she smiled and pointed near one of the cherry trees. "There!" Al sat up and looked around.

"I don't see any…."

Suddenly two tiny birds came zooming out from behind the tree; twirling around each other in full flight. They flew up and around, this way and that, occasionally whipping past Al's head, causing him to duck. Alphonse could hear their tiny voices everywhere – quiet little chirps and squeaks that seemed almost musical. He glanced over at Mei and saw her eyes wide with delight. He wasn't surprised – he himself was amazed by their swift acrobatics. He smiled, then leaned back and continued to watch the tiny red birds. Mei noticed his smile and chucked.

"Everyone around here calls them _Chim bay nhanh_, which means Quick Flying Bird. They say that they only come out on a full moon to dance in the moonlight." Mei leaned her head on her husband's shoulder. "I used to come out here all the time with my sisters when they were younger."

Al just nodded, wrapping an arm around her thin waist. They sat there for an hour, enjoying the birds and the cool night.

A strong gust of wind broke them out of their trance, whipping Mei's hair and dress around. She pushed her dress down and chuckled. "We'd better get back – it's getting late and I don't want mom to worry about us."

"Can't we just stay out here a bit longer?" Al whispered, snuggling into the crook of her neck. He didn't want to go back yet; he was enjoying the time alone with her. It was rare that you'd get a night like this, and Al was enjoying the comfort of both her and the full moon.

Mei smiled softly, pushing his head away gently. "I promised mom that we'd be back soon." She chucked. "She prepared a room for us and I wouldn't want to sit out here and let that comfy big bed go to waste."

Still, Al was enjoying the night. It was the first time that day they had been alone together; as soon as they got off the train Mei had suggested stopping by her family's house to pay them a well deserved visit before heading to their hotel. After all, she hadn't seen them in almost 3 years. Al had agreed, but before long both had began to regret that decision. Mei's mother, Meilin, was _ecstatic _that her eldest daughter was married to such a handsome young man, and had insisted that the two of them stayed in the Chang Mansion instead. Meilin had dotted over her daughter and son-in-law all afternoon; Alphonse meanwhile sitting under the completely uncomfortable gaze of Mei's three younger half-sisters Jiao, Jia, and Lifen. Overexcited imagination seemed to run in the family: they stared at him as he was a prince straight out of a fairy tale. They flirted at him whenever he looked their way, tossing their long hair behind their back and giggling to whatever he said. It didn't help when Mei had described to her mother what a kind and gentle husband he was. Finally after a long banquet in the dining hall Al nudged Mei on the shoulder and managed to sneak her out from under her mother's gaze. As thankful as he was that his mother-in-law approved of him, he really didn't want to go back to the mansion yet.

They hopped off the large boulder and began making their way back to their quarters. Mei's home was fairly big – not nearly as large as the emperor's castle but still big enough to prove impressive. The Chang family may be one of the poorest in the country, but it didn't mean their ruler didn't have an impressing home.

They finally made it to the Chang Mansion. Alphonse held open the door for Mei before entering himself. They made their way quietly through the halls, tiptoeing quietly to prevent wakening any of the residents. Mei pressed her finger to her lips as they passed Meilin's room; obviously she didn't want another run in with her mother either. They made their way into their room; Al quietly shutting the door behind them.

"How lucky of us to be quartered right beside your darling sisters…" He mumbled. Mei laughed.

"Sorry about this, Alphonse. I forgot how obsessive my family can be around foreigners." She sat down gingerly in front of a fancy vanity in the corner of the room. "One time when I was 7 a foreigner from Drachma came to Xing on a business trip. My sisters and I found him wandering the marketplace and instantly Jia and Jiao fell in love with him. The poor guy was hounded by them until Lifen and I could pull them off." Al chuckled and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Kind of how you used to be around me?"

"Worse, actually." She said frankly. She took a few of her braids and started unraveling them. Al sat on the edge of the vanity and helped, careful not to pull or rip out any hair.

"How about this: in the morning I'll try to find a nice hotel for us; one that's in the most secluded part of the mountains. Is that ok?" Al looked at her in surprise.

"You don't want to visit you family any longer?" He took another braid. "I'm ok with staying here if you really want to. I know it's been a while since you've seen them…."

Mei sighed. "It's always nice to visit your family after being gone for so long but when you start worrying about your husband being snatched away by your own half-sisters…." She shrugged. Alphonse chuckled, but didn't say anything. They sat there quietly, unraveling her braids. Every night, even before they got married, Al would sit with her and help her undo every little braid in her hair. Then in the mornings he would find her sitting by the vanity, retying them up again, and he would silently get up and help. He loved those kinds of moments, when they could just sit there in silence and be completely comfortable with each other.

Finally the braids were out, Mei's long onyx hair running neatly down her back. Al playfully pushed his face into a handful of her locks; earning a giggle from his blushing wife.

"Alphonse! Stop it! I don't want you knotting it up!" He gave her a teasing smile, then came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her; shoving his face into her hair right into the back of her neck. It was silky smooth and smelt of cherry blossoms and plums, probably from the Xingenese shampoo she always used back home.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?" he whispered into her neck. She leaned her head back, a small smile creeping over her face.

"A few times actually…oh!" her eyes widened in surprise as Al hugged her tighter, gingerly kissing the back of her neck. He kissed his way around until he found her jaw line.

She sighed contently but pushed his head away. "Alphonse! Go get ready for bed or something!" He didn't miss the light flush that creped onto her small face. "I would very much like to get my hair up in a bun before dawn, thank you very much." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, then walked over to their suitcases sitting on the corner of the bed. He began to unpack, putting aside his pajama pants when he found them on the bottom. He started changing; switching his jeans for the loose, checkered pajama pants his brother had gotten for him last Christmas.

"So any plans on how to get a hotel without upsetting your mother?" Al asked conversationally as he tied up the front of his pants. It was quiet for a second, then Al heard the slight scrape of the chair against the tile floor.

"Oh I'm sure we can figure it later…." He heard Mei say behind him. _Right _behind him. He whipped his head around, surprised that she appeared so fast, but not before a pair of thin arms wrapped around his waist from behind and kept him still.

"These accommodations aren't _that_ bad…." She whispered into his hair, sending small shivers along his neck. "I'm sure we can find a way to enjoy it for this _one_ night…."

"…. And we wouldn't want a perfectly grand bed like this one to go to waste, would we?" Al laughed quietly, twisting around to face her. He gave her a mischievous smile before picking her up bridal-style. Mei squeaked and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Al-sama!"

Alphonse laughed. "Why dear me, fair maiden. It seems that the night has gotten quite dark. I believe 'tis time to put her ladyship to rest, wouldn't you think?" he said poetically, gingerly kissing her on the lips.

"Maybe…." Mei smiled, burying her head into his neck. "But then thou handsome knight must rest up as well; for he'll need his energy to protect thee from thou foul half-sisters."

"Yes, yes…. Those vicious beasts must be dealt with. But not now, of course…" and with this he dropped her playfully onto the bed, the plush mattress making her bounce. She giggled shyly as he came down after her, kissing her everywhere and anywhere: on the lips, on her neck, on her chest…. She moaned and pulled him tighter against her. "Alphonse-sama…"

"Yes, my lady?" Al whispered, pulling her little Xingenese kimono off her shoulders. He nibbled along her neck and ran his fingers down her bare back. Mei closed her eyes and sighed, arching her back a bit towards him. Damn her handsome prince and his romantic ways! She grabbed the buttons of his silk green tunic and started to tug them off, her lips never leaving his.

"Oh my gods…"

"That fricken' lucky Mei!"

"I want an Amestris boy too!"

Both of their heads snapped up and looked towards the door. There, between the small opening of their once closed door sat 3 pairs of curious eyes that unmistakably belonged to Jiao, Jia, and Lifen. Jia noticed them watching and jumped.

"Oh! Um….uh… " Suddenly the eyes disappeared, and heavy running footsteps could be heard in the hall. Mei sat up, her honeymoon long forgotten, and stormed towards the door furiously. Al watched as she yanked it open and dashed after her sisters, despite still only being in her undergarments. A moment later he heard slight shouting from down the hall.

"I'm sorry!"

"When a door's closed, it's closed for a fricken' reason!"

"Take it easy! At least you caught us before you two started- ow! What the heck was that for?"

"You deserved it!"

"Ya? Well we were just- arg!"

"Stop it you two… you'll wake up mom…."

Alphonse laughed silently to himself and glanced out the balcony window. The moon was still high and the night still young. _Good thing too. Mei might need another walk to calm her down after this…. _He leaned back, putting his hand behind his back and staring up at the ceiling. Perhaps a hotel could wait. As noisy as Mei's family were they were still family. _Besides… I did the same thing to Ed a few times in the past…. _He chuckled and lay on his side, patiently waiting for his little princess to come back.

_CRACK!_

_SMASH!_

Al sat up. Suddenly there was the sound of timber and drywall falling over, and he heard frustrated shouts of the girls down the hall.

"What the hell is going on here?" Meilin's voice came echoing down the hall, which sounded too much like his old teachers voice when she was angry. Al shrunk into the covers and stared nervously at the wall. _Ok, I take it back; a hotel would be nice…. _

* * *

Just a couple little notes on names:

* Nhanh chóng bay – Quick flying in Vietnamese (I'm not completely sure if this is correct since I just used an online translator for this.)  
* Jiao - Dainty or Lovely  
* Jia – Beautiful  
* Lifen – Beautiful fragrance.  
* Mei – Plum  
* Meilin – Plum jade

I might continue this, making more chapters about their time in Xing; let me know if this is worth continuing or not! Thanks for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it! :D


	2. Night Blades

_Note: I t__hought of this chapter in the middle of the night – it's a little weird but whatever - it's still kinda cute XD  
It's right after the last chapter, the same night. Enjoy! :D_

* * *

_Rustle…._

_Tink!_

_Rustle…._

_Tink!_

Alphonse groaned and shifted in his sleep. There is was, that feeling he got almost every night. The feeling of someone fiddling under his pillow, very slightly but noticeable nonetheless. Al closed his eyes and attempted to fall back asleep. He knew very well who those fingers fiddling under his head belonged too; he just wished she'd fiddle with him somewhere _other _than under his noggin.

_Tink!_

The tiny sound of steel hitting steel. Al heard her frustration as she tried to pull a bigger object out from under his pillow.

"Sigh…. I love you to death, Al-sama, but why must your head be so heavy..?" he heard her grumble quietly to herself. He fought down a smile and continued to "sleep", waiting for her to finish and be on her way.

_Tink! _

Alphonse could only wonder how much she had hid under his pillow this time.

They're first night together was defiantly an eventful one. Al remembered waking up late that cool summer morning; the sun beaming down through the open window of his bedroom, warming the two naked bodies that were snuggled peacefully together after a long night. He had been stroking her fair black hair as she slept, thinking about a possible future together, when his hand slipped under her pillow and touched something cold and metallic. _What the heck…? _He had though, rising up a bit and lifting the pillow, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. What he found was much worse than the assorted tools his brother claimed Winry kept under _her _pillow.

She had woken up to find him staring in horror under her pillow; and it took all her power and energy to convince him that, no, the 20-pounds of shurikan's, kunai's and other assorted Xingenese hand-weapons were not because he wasn't any good last night. _Xingenese royalty must always carry weapons with them no matter where they are, _she had said, _you never know how or when someone might try to assassinate you. _

_Even when said royalty is enjoying a moment alone with their boyfriend..? _Al had asked nervously, making her laugh. After that Mei promised that she'd let him keep the instruments under _his _pillow, just to assure him that he wasn't in any danger of getting a knife in the stomach during one of their "moments" together.

He soon noticed another reason why she kept an arsenal under her pillow at night. Around 2:30 every night, she would start getting fidgety and twitchy in her sleep. She would kick out a bit and make little squeaking noises, rolling this way and that across the mattress. By 3 she was out of bed, hastily grabbing her shurikans and a robe and bolting out onto the patio for a private training session. Al would watch her from the bed, amazed that she could become that active so early in the morning. The first couple weeks he would try to keep her in bed, sleeping comfortably on her chest or wrapping his arm tightly around her waist, anything to keep her at his side, but she was always able to squeeze her small frame out from under his grasp and practice her forms and attacks out on the balcony. After a couple weeks Alphonse gave up, and decided to settle with watching Mei though the balcony window instead, her petite but beautiful body performing intricate patterns and forms along with the glisten of the kunai's against the moonlight.

Tonight, though, he was feeling stubborn.

Mei had finally picked out all of her blades and was starting to get out of bed when Al lazily threw an arm over her waist, pretending to still be asleep. He hugged her tightly against his body and sighed into her leg. Mei smiled and brushed his hair lightly, trying not to wake him up. Al buried his head into her hip, praying that she'd reconsider and stay with him this _one _night. It _was _their honeymoon after all.

She leaned over carefully and kissed him on the cheek, brushing his hair a bit before getting up. _Oh no you don't, _thought Al, hugging her closer. He held on tighter, earning a slight gasp from his wife. Mei giggled and tried to get up again, only to be held down again.

She sighed and leaned back, practically lying on top of him. "You're not actually asleep, are you Al-sama?" she whispered, twirling a strand of his hair in her fingers. Mei chucked when he hugged her tighter, brushing his nose across her hip. She leaned back even more, and Al felt his heartbeat speed up. _Maybe she'll stay after all? I mean I have her trapped…. _He loosened his grip a bit and cuddled into her stomach, her hand gently caressing his hair.

Then before he could register it, she grabbed the blades from their place on the pillow and leaped nimbly out of his grasp. Al looked up, eye wide in surprise, and saw that she was already at the door, playfully twirling a shrunken around her fingers. She laughed at his baffled expression.

"I'll be back, Alphonse-sama, I just need to go get some fresh air, you should know that by now." She winked his way and headed out the bedroom door, grabbing his trench coat on the way out. Al groaned and leaned back, covering his eyes with his arm and staring up at the ceiling. Of course… he couldn't keep his little butterfly down even if he tried. He smiled, then got up and walked over to the nearest window. His eye's scanned the castle grounds until he saw her; a tiny figure in a brown coat throwing little darts at a nearby dummy, stomping her foot in frustration if she missed. Al pulled the chair out from under the vanity and sat by the window, watching his little princess. He couldn't believe that despite their midnight walk through the woods followed by her "fight" with her sisters, she still had the energy to practice in the dark, during the latest hours of the night. She really _did _have a lot of energy; great things come from small packages.

He watched her for a bit longer, then retired after his eyelids started to protest. He crawled under the covers, snuggling beside her pillow and waited for her return, think about where to hide her weapons in the morning. About an hour later he heard light footsteps down the hall, and the thin shadow of his wife came into view. He watched from under the covers as she hung his coat on the chair, then snuggled under the thick blankets beside him. She lay on her side facing him, and lightly brushed his nose with her finger.

"Sorry, Al-sama…" she whispered under her breath, cuddling up close to his chest. He smiled lightly and pecked her on the nose, wrapping his arms around her small waist.

"Don't be, I understand…" he chucked softly, pressing his forehead against hers. "Brother and I always used to wake up in the middle of the night to study alchemy, remember?"

"But you weren't married to one another, unless there's something between you two I don't know about." Mei laughed quietly, closing her eyes. She sighed softly and snuggled into his chest. "I promise I'll put them away tomorrow night; I shouldn't abandon you like that during our honeymoon, should I?" She raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it; I doubt hotels allow weapons in the rooms anyway…." Al kissed her nose and started to drift off to sleep as well.

"It's ok, Mei, I like watching you practice at night…"

Mei looked up at him in surprise. "Wait, you _what?_" a small blush crept over her cheeks. "How long have you been watching me practice? I always thought you were asleep…."

Alphonse chucked and kissed her on the nose again, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. She stared embarrassingly at him for a moment, then yawned and followed his lead, burying her head into his chest and falling asleep.

* * *

_This chapter is a little short, sorry about that... o_o"_  
_The next chapter will probably be a sunnier one, with Mei's family in it - I think I forgot about them in this chapter ^_^"_  
_Reviews and appreciated! Thanks for reading :D_

_(BTW just warning you all, there's a very strong chance that I won't be writing a detailed lemon scene for this story, since I... well... I'm not that experienced with that sort of field... o_o" _  
_But we'll see, I might just end up writing one - I just don't want to make it sounding fake or anything, that's all ^_^")_  
_So at the moment the story shall stay rated T! :D_


	3. Confrontation

_**NOTE:** Ok, so I had slight issues with this chapter, with the grammer and general direction of the whole darn thing – I was planning to skip straight to the Market Day but then I decided to make a chapter in-between. So… I'm really sorry if this chapter kind of sucks… ^_^"_  
_I got tired of editing it; no matter how many times I read it over it never sounded right XD_  
_Anyway, hope you enjoy… ^_^"  
BTW, Allen and Wayern are mentioned in this chapter - if you don't know who they are check out my other story "The Night Before Christmas", they're my main 2 OC's ^_^" (AKA Ed and Winry's sons.)_

_Discaimer: I don't own FMA, and I'm glad I don't 'cause if I did Ed and Winry would have made-out at the end of the manga and it would have been mega-OOC and too cliche XD_

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

Alphonse flinched, startled by the shout from inside the study. His ear was pressed hard against the door, eavesdropping on his wife and oh-so-wonderful mother-in-law. It was the next morning, just after a generous breakfast of cinnamon-pastries and other Xingenese delights, and Mei had requested to talk with her mother before the day began.

"I said I'd speak to mom today and I'm keeping my promise. I want a hotel just as bad as you do, Al-sama." Mei had told him, slipping on a freshly-ironed burgundy robe. Although he was looking forward to being alone with her in a classy hotel, Al couldn't be get nervous. Her mother was such a doting parent, and after hearing those two words through the door he could mentally see his hopes of the perfect honeymoon being flushed down the drain.

"But mother! I'm pretty sure Alphonse and I should be able to choose where we spend our nights, shouldn't we?"

"Are you saying that you don't want to be around your family, Mei-chan? You've been gone for an entire year and you don't want to see your family for even just a week?"

"No… I mean… of course not! I mean, I don't want us to bother you four in any sort of way - it'd be better if we had some privacy….."

"You know I'm perfectly fine with you two kissing, Mei. Your sisters do it all the time with the cook. It's just natural for a married couple to do that kind of thing!" Al heard Mei let out a deep huff.

"It's not the kissing I'm worried about, mother.…"

Al felt his face go deep red. But it was true: they both wanted a little privacy. They didn't want another run-in like what happened the night before. He wanted to walk around in his under-shorts when he was feeling lazy and tired from a long night; he wanted to sit in bed all day and munch on cheap-hotel toast with his wife, sometimes playfully smearing jam on her nose. He wanted to walk from the shower to his room without worrying about crazy sisters-in-law tackling him in the dark. And, ok, he'll admit it: he wanted to be able to make sweet love to his new wife without having to worry about waking nearby family at 3 in the morning.

So why couldn't his mother-in-law understand that?

"What one earth are you doing?"

Al jumped and whipped around. Lifen stood behind him, arms behind her back, watching him with big eyes. He straightened up, pushing his back against the door.

"Um… nothing. I was just…" he scrambled to think up an excuse. He certainly couldn't tell the girl that he was eavesdropping on her mother and half-sister. Who _knows_ what she'd think of him then?

"You're not eavesdropping, are you Alphones-sama?"

_Shit. _Al rubbed the back of his neck. _"_Just trying to see what they're talking about, that's all…"

"That's very rude, you know."

Al looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and continued. "I'm not sure what you Amestris's believe to be polite, but listening through a door to the head of the Chang-clan and the former princess is quite the offence here in Xing."

Alphonse blushed. "Oh… I'm sorry I didn't know…." He smiled lightly. "It's actually pretty rude back home as well."

"Then why are you doing it?"

_Good god, get this girl away from me…. _He swallowed nervously and cast a glance at the door. Lifen continued to watch him, almost studying his every action. "I do believe Mei described you as a Prince yesterday evening. You certainly _look _like a prince but…." She chuckled and watched him pull at his collar nervously. "… but I'm sure princes don't eavesdrop of their wives."

Al cast her a cheeky smile. "And I'm pretty certain princesses don't spy on their sisters when they're sharing a moment with their husbands, do they?"

Alphonse saw her blush. "Um… well that's different…"

"I'm not sure how different it actually is. In fact it's probably _worse, _since you were actually _watching _me while I'm just listening through a door- "

"Alright, alright! Fine!" Lifen threw her hands up in defeat. "Whatever."

Al chuckled. "How about you? What are you doing?" He smiled at her. "I heard your mother saying something about you and a certain cook…?"

"Don't you dare start with that!" She jabbed her finger in his chest angrily, but he could still see a dark blush spreading around her face. "That's my sisters' doing. They're always flirting with the chiefs downstairs, but I have nothing to do with that…"

Al raised an eyebrow at the defensive tone to her voice. "Oh?"

She sighed and rubbed her neck tiredly. "If you must know, I can't flirt with any other man because I'm supposed to be one of the emperors wives."

"Wait, what?" Alphonse did a quick calculation in his head. _If Mei's not the head of the house anymore, then that means Lifen is._ He scratched his head. _And since Mei didn't become emperor all those years ago that means…_

"Wait, you mean Ling?" he had forgotten that Ling was the new emperor. He wondered how he was doing after all these years later…..

"Silence!" Lifen glared at him and hissed angrily at him. "Never say the emperors name so lightly!"

"But aren't you supposed to be at Lin- the Emperors temple?"

"Maybe….and don't say his name like that again!"

"But I know him! I used to travel with him back when – "

The door suddenly swung opened, and a storming Mei came stomping through. She jumped when she saw Alphonse and Lifen. "Oh! Al-sama, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." He smiled, linking his arms through Mei's. Lifen let out a frustrated huff but stayed silent.

"Mom's staying unmovable about the whole think…" Mei whispered quietly into his ear. "So I guess we'll have to resort to sneaking out tonight."

Al laughed. His little stubborn princess. "We'll see – I just hope I have the energy tonight to do something like that. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night; neither did you."

Lifen cleared her throat. "Excuse me." Al looked up and saw her crossing her arms.

"Yes Lifen?"

"The main reason I came searching for you….. I do believe that we have a date today. You _do _remember it, right big sister?" her face lit up, all previous frustration and anger gone. She started singing: "It's the best in every way, you have to come-visit-stay, and everyone hails the glorious –"

"Market Day!" Mei cut in, jumping up excitedly. "Oh my, I completely forgot about that!" noticing Alphonse's confused expression she giggled. "Market Day; it's a huge market that comes around every 3 month. You can find the cutest coats, shoes, hairclips…"

"And guys!" Lifen laughed, giggling hard. Al looked at her in surprise. _I thought she just said that she couldn't….. _

"Would you want to go later, Al-sama?" Mei asked, her eyes wide with excitement. "My sisters and I always used to go when we were little; it's the biggest event of the month and…." She lowered her eyes. "… and I completely forgot that it fell on the same day as our honeymoon…."

Alphonse closed his eyes and remembered how Mei once described the Market Day, They had been babysitting Edwards's sons one night and as a way to entertain the boys Mei told them all about the hustle and bustle of Market Day; the thousands of stalls with wondrous gifts and nick-nacks; the bears, elephants, and tigers the zoo-tamers put on display for kids to pet and touch; the belly-dancers that traveled around the square, dancing and twirling with colorful ribbons flowing behind them. Back home in Resenpool there had been a small farmers market where people would sell their crops , quilts, or other crafts; but Mei had laughed and told him flatly that it didn't even _compare _to a traditional Xingenese Market Day. Al smiled and stroked her hair.

"Actually, I'd love to see this event you've talked about so diligently."

Even before he was done speaking Mei had jumped up and hugged him roughly around the neck, giggling and smiling like a child. He laughed and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Oh thank you, Alphonse-sama! Thank you so _much_!" She looked at him with big eyes. "Are you sure…?"

"Perfectly sure." He kissed her on the nose. "It sounds neat. I might even be able to find souvenirs there for everyone back home…"

"Oh yes! There's plenty to look at and buy…. Oh! We might be able to find something cute for Allen and Wayern back home; some adorable little Xingenese pajama's maybe….. Oh wait, of _course_ we'll be able to find something, the market is huge...…" she rambled on excitedly; Al hugged her arm and laughed quietly to himself. He loved seeing her like this; she usually hid her inner child from him, fearing that he would be against it, but it was quite the opposite for him. _What I wouldn't pay to have the excitement of a kid again…. _

Suddenly Mei yanked his arm, pulling him down the hall. "We'll be right back, Lifen!" she called to her sister. "I just want to find something more comfortable for Alphonse to wear!"

"Wait, this isn't good enough?" He fingered his olive robes, with intricate golden patterns running through the long sleeves and down the hip.

"Oh course not, Al-sama; that is _much _too fancy for you to wear outside the castle." She paused and examined him over her shoulder. "I'm thinking of a nice long-sleeved tunic with a clean pair of white pants…. Maybe a few charms around the neck to show that you're rich but not exactly royal…."

Al just laughed, and let his wife lead him off to her closet.

* * *

_The next chapter will be the fun, sunny Market Day chapter, I promise! I apologize yet again if this chapter was boring and lame, the next one will hopefully be better :D_  
_Thanks for reading; I really appreciate the reviews I've been getting and would also really appreciate more in the future! ;D_

_On a seperate note, I totally love writting "Al-sama" mostly because it reminds me of "Balsamic Vinigar" which I usually put on salads. So... Al-samic vingar! XD_  
_Ok I'm done... o_o_  
_Thanks again for reading! XD_


End file.
